Why pharma can't implement more social media programs
People all over the Internet are asking the same thing why doesnt pharma implement more social media programs? Its a good question but unless you have worked in big pharma its one that i hard to answer and even harder to understand. Here are the top reasons that I believe pharma does not really embrace and integrate social media programs into their marketing.
1. We are risk adverse- This is probably the number one reason that pharma does not embrace social media. With the FDA flexing their muscles a lot of regulatory and legal people are not willing to sign off on anything social until someone higher up commits to taking some risks to benefit patients.
2. We cant marry business objectives with Internet user needs- People in pharma dont go to the bathroom without doing an ROI analysis and since social media is misunderstood at a lot of levels within the organization how the hell can you show ROI?
3. More with less means we just dont have the people/budget- When the ax comes out to cut budgets interactive is usually the one that takes it hard. Why? Because there is still this belief that we need to keep TV even though studies consistently show that TV, once you have achieved reach, is ineffective.
4. Social media is just a fad- Too many marketers really believe this and to their point they maybe right but the fact remains that millions of people are using social media and if youre job is to go where your audience is than you should be on social media.
5. Our audience is not on social media- Less than 10% of Twitter users are responsible for over 80% of Tweets. Your audience maybe on social media but may not be using it on a regular basis.
6. Its doesnt make sense to form a sense of community around our product/health condition- If you wouldnt talk to people about it at a party than it probably does not make sense to talk to them in a social media setting. However, think beyond the brand and think about the problems your audience has and how you can help them see your brand/product as a solution.
7. You have to be kidding I cant even get enough money to update my site and add good analytics and you want me to implement social media? Another canard is the belief that once your site is up and running youre done for and dont need to make any more major investments. WRONG and to think so is just ignorance at its worst.
You would think that with so many walls being built around pharma marketers that they would want to find ways to try new things to reach consumers and patients but the philosophy seems to be keep a low profile while changes are going on within the FDA. The Gardasil page on Facebook I believe is a great example of bringing people together around a cause and educating them about your product and brand. Will more pharma embrace social media? Probably only when the social media buzz has passed ...